Mick Jagger recently sent a Christmas message on Instagram while wearing a deep crimson paisley shirt with canary yellow and inky black embellishments. The outfit had a nostalgically glamorous feel: decadent yet comfy, it suited Jagger’s bohemian rockstar image and his ageless presence. “Maybe he got it for Christmas,” laughed Emily Adams Bode Aujla, the garment designer and founder of the eponymous company Bode, over a Zoom conversation from Paris.
Since founding her New York City-based firm in 2016, Bode Aujla’s designs—often recycled from precisely studied vintage garments—have been spotted on a range of celebrity tastemakers, including Harry Styles, Bruno Mars, Jordan Peele, the Jonas Brothers, and many more. “With his tour,” Bode Aujla explained, “(Harry) was signed with Gucci, but he’s one of our most devoted Hollywood customers. He wore us out off-stage. “We’d wake up to paparazzi photos.” In tandem, Bode has amassed a sizable audience of fashion fans and style-savvy buyers all around the world—all for garments that, she says, revolve on a “sentimentality for the past.”
Colorful quilted workwear jackets, blousons with 1940s-era Hungarian appliqués, lightweight chemises with replicated prints from 1920s-era French textile factories, and whimsically hand-decorated corduroys (as seen on Styles in Vogue in December 2020). Many of the items Bode sells are one-of-a-kind, with garments recreated from deadstock materials and old clothing. The rest is a historical recreation, down to what she terms “hyper-intentional” elements like buttons and seaming.
While Bode’s approach is down to earth, its pricing falls into the luxury category. Quilted jackets currently sell for between $1,000 and $2,000, and a pair of socks, two-toned with embroidered flowers, costs $250.
“We discuss material and technique,” stated the designer. “What we do focuses heavily on the preservation of artistry. The silhouettes aren’t necessarily outdated, but the labor-intensive processes used in the clothing are certainly from a previous age.”
Emotional Connection
Her outfit resonates with deeply personal, emotional references: Much of her art is informed by an investigation of remembering, family dynamics, and domestic settings — and how she has encountered each of these issues, primarily in the Eastern United States, during the past 32 years. Bode Aujla was born in Atlanta but spent much of her youth in Massachusetts. She became interested in vintage attire at a young age and was fascinated by historical stories from her mother and extended family.
It’s evident in her creative work. For example, for her Spring 2018 collection, Bode Aujla flew to Peymeinade, France, to meet with her uncle’s mother. The woman informed Bode Aujla about her childhood house’s attic (le Grenier). Bode Aujla was enthralled, and the room inspired the entire season’s collection, which included toweling fabric, vintage duvets, and more. This is just one of several similar cases.
At the same time, Bode Aujla’s work perfectly captures the present zeitgeist: A pioneer in ethically conscious fashion design (upcycling, for example, is now far more widespread than when she established her label seven years ago), she also timed the trend precisely, even though her garments are not developed with trends in mind. Previous generations heavily influence Gen-Z’s sartorial aesthetic.
Bode Aujla also has news for 2023: she recently added womenswear to her label’s catalog. On Saturday, she will present the new designs alongside her 2018 Fall-Winter menswear collection at Paris Fashion Week.
This new line included historical copies of 1920s-era dresses and 1940s-era gowns and replicas of 1970s-era items that Bode Aujla’s mother, Janet, cherished and passed down. “This first official menswear collection revolves around my mother and a particular time during her youth in Massachusetts,” she tells me. “She worked as a seasonal employee in a Cape Cod house. An older woman owned the residence and dressed in a full evening costume every night for dinner.
An all-over gold sequined coat, a champagne-hued basic bib-collared dress, gorgeous old-timey embroidery on cardigans and jacket lapels, and even a Western flair with fringed suede were on display. It was a massive, decade-spanning vision. And the Bode pool will undoubtedly be broadened.
While Bode Aujla has long drawn inspiration from personal experience and observation, she realizes that emotional connection, born of introspection and powered by the strength of family, is universal, independent of her particular ancestral intimacy.
This intimacy may be felt partly through her brick-and-mortar boutiques, one in New York City and the other in Los Angeles. They are studied and living room-like, with Los Angeles being more academic and New York being more intimate. Retail is the second component in Bode Aujla’s 2023 strategy: she intends to create a third location in the United Kingdom or Europe.
“We’ve experienced tremendous growth due to our retail stores,” Bode Aujla, our CEO, stated. “I think a lot of people are now loyal to the business because of how intimate a lot of the clothes look or feel to them once they’ve touched them.”
It Is Resonating With The Modern Consumer.
Timeless Appeal: Bode’s designs are timeless, appealing to people looking for authenticity and uniqueness. The brand’s emphasis on quality and legacy appeals to those who see clothing as a means of self-expression.
Cultural relevance: By reinventing twentieth-century designs for the twenty-first century, Bode draws into a developing cultural fascination with the past. The brand’s ability to make old-world fashion feel new and relevant has garnered a dedicated following among fashion-forward individuals.
Influence On The Fashion Industry
Reviving Craftsmanship: Bode is part of a broader movement in the fashion industry that celebrates craftsmanship and artisanal techniques. The brand’s success highlights the growing demand for thoughtfully made, heritage-rich clothing.
Setting Trends: Bode has become a trendsetter in the fashion world, inspiring other designers to explore vintage influences and sustainable practices. The brand’s approach to design has sparked a renewed interest in the intersection of history and fashion.
In conclusion, Bode’s ability to design 20th-century-inspired clothing for 21st-century consumers demonstrates the continuing power of nostalgia and artistry in fashion. By merging the ancient and the contemporary, Bode provides a unique perspective on what it means to dress with purpose and style in today’s world.
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